What’s the expiration date for paint?
If improperly applied, or applied after hasty or incomplete preparation, the lifespan of paint will be short. Painting contractors know that using quality products on properly prepared surfaces and using professional application techniques is the only way to get the most out of a coating.
Cut corners on any part of the process, and you risk paint failure and decrease the benefits that a coating offers for your structure.
Avoid Paint Failure: Choose Quality Products
Paint, like most material goods, comes in high and low grades. Cheaper paints cannot offer the same performance characteristics found in more expensive brands of paint. A painting contractor can help you select paints that have the right pigments, binders and additives that will give you the best performance for your building. The right high quality paint for the job is less likely to experience paint failure than a cheaper paint.
Avoid Paint Failure: Choose Proper Prep Techniques
Ask any professional painting contractor for the number one thing that helps prevent paint failure, and proper surface preparation is the most likely answer. The pros know that the time and effort you put into preparing the surface will directly affect that paint job’s performance. Cleaning, blasting and other procedures allow paint to bond with the surface.
Poor surface adhesion is behind a host of paint failure issues, such as peeling and flaking. By making sure that a surface is optimal for paint adhesion, a painting contractor is helping you avoid paint failure.
Avoid Paint Failure: Use Professional Application Techniques
Every paint manufacturer lists a coverage guideline for each of their products, which is usually expressed as the square footage covered per gallon at a set thickness of application. The coverage guidelines are what the manufacturer recommends to get the most benefit from the product. Failing to put those coverage guidelines into practice invites paint failure.
Professional painting contractors follow coverage guidelines because they know that cracking and flaking, a type of paint failure, can result from stretching a coat too thin. When a painting contractor is making an estimate, the square footage that is to be covered is factored into the costs of materials for the project. Cutting corners on the materials budget may result in serious problems with cracking and flaking later on.
On the other side of the application issue, laying it on too thick may result in a different type of paint failure called alligatoring. Another cause of this type of paint failure is not letting a coat dry properly before applying more paint. Consistent application and good dry times are needed to insure a quality finish.
Extend the lifespan of your coating by asking for suggestions to avoid paint failure at your facility. Your painting and coating contractor may have more advice to help your facility stay looking great.
